Nine year old Will and his older brother Marty, travel with their two younger brothers and parents to a coastal town famous for being haunted by a pirate from long ago. Marty likes to scare Will at night with his stories of Captain Crow. One night they go to a dance together. Their parents make them promise two things: first they must go straight to and from the dance with no side stops. And second, they must agree not to go on the rocks that border the ocean. They agree and off they set. Will is among the youngest set of children at the dance and so he is rebuked by every dance partner. At the end of the night he play a game with the other younger children and wins the prize, a fake set of teeth that are supposedly Captain Crow’s. Before leaving for home, Marty says he wants to give a girl a ride home on his bike, so that Marty must walk. But to make it on time, he must walk over the rocks. Will objects but Marty wins the battle of wills and Will is forced to walk over the rocks to make it home on time. But this was all an elaborate ruse by Marty to scare Will. Marty tries to scare Will but gets his foot stuck in the rocks and Will has to help him out. Marty is also scared because they see the haunted, glowing rock where Captain Crow will return. They make it home just in time.

This is book two in the “Will and Marty” series, the first being Spud Murphy. Colfer has a real gift for making humdrum reality fun and exciting. In this book he develops a kid’s fear of a local superstition, then demolishes it in the face of even greater peril, his parent’s displeasure. This is a delightful, funny book. ( )

Nine year old Will is looking forward to attending a summer dance with the older children, but his older brother Marty has other plans in store for him. Marty lays the stage for fright by telling Will the story of infamous pirate Captain Crow, who spent his life searching for the nine year old cabin boy who bested him in a fight. Legend says even after his death, Crow's ghost continues to search for the cabin boy along the coast of Duncade, Ireland, and any nine year old boys in his path will be kidnapped to his ship. Luckily for Will, his parents insist that he and Marty take a route to the dance that does not travel along the rocks known as Captain Crow's Teeth. But events take a turn for the worse when Will wins a contest at the dance and gets named "Captain Crow's Official Cabin Boy". When the dance ends, Marty suddenly has an excuse not to take Will home on his bike, forcing Will to traverse alone at night the dangerous rocks haunted by Captain Crow in order to get home by curfew. When the rocks begin to glow, Will wonders if it is phosphorescence or really the evil Captain Crow. But when Will gets “haunted” by Crow’s ghost, it turns out to be Marty attempting to frighten him. Ironically, Marty is the one who ends up learning a lesson in fear and humility, when he finds himself trapped in the rocks and believes himself to be in danger from the legendary ghost. Will winds up saving the day for both of them and finding unexpected courage.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was a fun and enthralling little book. I think it would be especially appealing to a young reader with older siblings, as Colfer has included a brotherly bonding aspect to the story. It has fantastical aspects to it (with the pirate "ghost") but the spookiness is eventually explained by something that happens in the real world. I can't wait to recommend this to some of my 2nd and 3rd grade students. ( )

Wikipedia in English

After surviving a summer with the legendary ninja librarian Spud Murphy, not much can scare brothers Will and Marty Woodman. Until, that is, they travel with their family to the small seaside town famous for its resident ghost. Legend has it that when the sea glows at night, pirate Captain Augustine Crow haunts the shore searching for a new cabin boy. Of course, nine-year-old Will knows this can't be true. But one night, he is out late, and the sea is lit with an eerie glow…and, is that a ghostly voice calling his name?

Not much can scare Will and Marty--until they travel with their family to a seaside town famous for its resident ghost. Legend has it that when the sea glows at night, the pirate captain Augustine Crow haunts the shore, searching for a new cabin boy. Of course, Will knows this can't be true. But one night, the sea is lit with an eerie glow...and is that a ghostly voice calling his name?… (more)